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The microstrip meander-line traveling wave tube (TWT) is a kind of small sized, low voltage, low cost, and easy to fabricate TWT. It is an attractive choice for many applications, such as communication systems, phased array radars, security detectors, and electronic counter measure (ECM) instruments. In this paper, a Ka band U-shape meander-line slow wave structure (SWS) supported by a diamond rod is presented. The dispersion characteristics of this meander-line SWS are analyzed using CST MW Studio. The S-parameter simulation results show that the reflection is below − 15 dB between 32 and 38 GHz, and the particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation reveals that this meander-line TWT can produce 57 W output power at 36 GHz, when it is driven by a 8.1 kV, 0.04 A sheet beam with rectangular cross-sectional area of 1.0 mm × 0.12 mm. This meander-line SWS is manufactured, assembled, and tested. The good agreement between the simulated and measured S11 has been achieved and the mismatch between the simulated and measured S21 has been discussed at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel modified angular log-periodic folded waveguide slow wave structure (MALPFW-SWS) is proposed for high-gain traveling wave tubes (TWTs). Each unit of the MALPFW-SWS has different dispersion characteristics and thus it has the ability to suppress oscillations in TWTs. The dispersion equation of the MALPFW-SWS is derived and a Ka-band MALPFW-SWS is designed according to the dispersion equation for verification. The particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation indicated that the output signal is steady even the gain of the designed MALPFW-TWT reaches 40 dB. The frequency spectrum of the output signal also proved that the MALPFW-SWS can suppress oscillations. The cold test experiment results show that the transmission characteristics of the fabricated MALPFW-SWS are good and are in good agreement with the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Ka-band azimuthal supported angular log-periodic strip-line (ASALS) slow wave structure (SWS) is proposed for a miniature radial sheet beam traveling wave tube (TWT). In the proposed SWS, two dielectric rods are employed to support the ASALS at both azimuthal sides. The strip-line is made of high-melting metal; thus, the ASALS SWS has a higher power capacity than microstrip SWSs. The high-frequency characteristics of that proposed SWS are investigated by using simulation software. The ASALS SWS is then fabricated and assembled for cold test. The measured transmission loss and reflection loss are better than − 2.5 dB and − 10 dB, respectively. The hot performance of the proposed is studied based on particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. It is shown that when the operating voltage is 5700 V, the ASALS TWT can give a maximum output power of 320 W at the frequency of 39 GHz, corresponding to a gain of 14.9 dB and electron efficiency of 9.12%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel slow wave structure (SWS), called double tunnel staggered grating (DTSG), which originates from the double staggered grating (DSG) and folded waveguide (FW), is proposed to develop a dual-beam traveling wave tube (TWT) with high power and electron efficiency in Terahertz (THz) band. Using two key techniques: (1) the rectangular holes are opened in the grating-ridges, and the operating mode is cut-off at holes; (2) specific grating-height, the DTSG-SWS possesses the wide operating band as DSG-SWS, high interaction impedance as the rectangular grating (RG) SWS, and good transmission characteristics as FW-SWS. In addition, it is not only suitable for the dual-beam TWT, but also is simple and easy of fabrication as DSG-SWS. The particle-in-cell simulation analysis confirms that the saturated power and electron efficiency of TWT using DTSG-SWS have been significantly improved compared with the TWT using DSG-SWS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further improve the output power of W-band traveling wave tube (TWT), a low gain TWT was proposed as a secondary amplifier. It uses a double staggered grating slow wave structure (DSG-SWS) and a sheet beam. Firstly, the design of DSG-TWT was given. Through simulation, the DSG-TWT could provide a saturation output power of more than 1000 W in the frequency range of 93–97 GHz, and the maximum output power could reach 1200 W at 95 GHz. No oscillation and current interception were found. Then DSG-SWS was fabricated by E-plane partition method using high-precision CNC milling. The SWS was fed with a high-power input-output coupler which consists of a mode converter and an impedance transformer. Simulation and cold-test results were presented, showing that the S11 is less than −10 dB and the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is less than 2.0 in the frequency range of 93–100 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-power vacuum electron devices (VEDs) are attractive, because of their broad applications, such as advance radars, electromagnetic warfare, and plasma reactors. In this paper, a Ka band mega-watt sheet electron beam traveling wave tube (TWT) is reported. A two-staged rectangular waveguide grating slow wave structure (SWS) driven by a sheet electron beam (20 mm × 1 mm, 164.8 kV, 850 A, 20 ns) is used in this TWT. In order to suppress the self-excited oscillation, a rectangular BeO attenuator is inserted between the two-staged SWSs. The experimental results show that the TWT can produce more than 2 MW output power from 34.2 to 35.5 GHz. And the maximum output power is 4.24 MW at 35 GHz, corresponding to the gain of 25.9 dB. In the future, the TWT will be used to perform research on biomedical effects and imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attenuator supporting meander-line (ASML) slow wave structure (SWS) is proposed for a Ka-band traveling wave tube (TWT) and studied by simulations and experiments. The ASML SWS simplifies the fabrication and assembly process of traditional planar metal meander-lines (MLs) structures, by employing an attenuator to support the ML on the bottom of the enclosure rather than welding them together on the sides. To reduce the surface roughness of the molybdenum ML caused by laser cutting, the ML is coated by a thin copper film by magnetron sputtering. The measured S11 of the ML is below −20 dB and S21 varies around −8 dB to −12 dB without the attenuator, while below −40 dB with the attenuator. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation results show that with a 4.4-kV, 200-mA sheet electron beam, a maximum output power of 126 W is obtained at 38 GHz, corresponding to a gain of 24.1 dB and an electronic efficiency of 14.3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]